S. Samuel
Rap mogul Jay-Z's boundary-pushing Magna Carta Holy Grail solo album continues to reach new peaks for the former Def Jam president as it has landed him his first-ever solo number one album in the United Kingdom.
While Jigga’s first-week sales in the United States won’t be unveiled until later this week, his overnight LP has toppled the UK charts.
Jay-Z has landed his first UK number one album with Magna Carta Holy Grail. The rapper’s highest-charting album previously was 2011’s collaborative project Watch The Throne with Kanye West, which peaked at number three. The record ousted Mumford & Sons‘ Babel which enjoyed surging sales following the band’s appearance at Glastonbury. In the singles chart, Robin Thicke‘s Blurred Lines returned to the top spot, replacing John Newman‘s Love Me Again after just one week at number one. (BBC UK)
Despite strong past efforts, Jigga’s closest attempt at reaching number one dates back to 2009.
Jay-Z had never been higher than No. 4 on the British bestsellers in his own right, peaking there with “Blueprint III” in 2009. That was eight years after the original “The Blueprint” opened his album chart account in the territory. From the new album, “Holy Grail,” featuring Justin Timberlake, opened at No. 24 on the singles chart. (Billboard)
Over the weekend, Jigga performed alongside R&B star Justin Timberlake in London.
Has London ever had a more dystopian venue than the Olympic Park? Compared to Wireless’s old home of Hyde Park this partially astroturfed gravel car park, exposed to an unforgiving sun, is like Coachella designed by an angry JG Ballard. Still, a formidable three-day lineup drawn from urban music’s top table is worth risking heatstroke. Having headlined a night each, Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake close the weekend together under the typically self-effacing name of Legends of the Summer. (The Guardian)
In the United States, Jay’s first-week sales projections are already beyond 500,000 copies.
YOUR NEW RELEASES: Well, there’s Jay-Z and everyone else this week. Magna Carta Holy Grail‘s chart-topping first week should best the bows of his previous three releases, Watch The Throne (436k), Blueprint 3 (476k) and American Gangster (425k). Looks like Samsung’s marketing campaign is paying off for everyone. Here are this week’s key debuts: Jay-Z (Roc Nation) 475-525k Ciara (Epic) 55-65k Skylar Gray (KidinaKorner/Interscope) 15-18k Donell Jones (eOne) 10-12k As of this writing Magna Carta remains the #1 album on the iTunes chart in its “explicit” form, while the “clean” version occupies the #5 spot. Lead single “Holy Grail” featuring Justin Timberlake is #2 on the singles chart, while “Tom Ford” (an early fave among hip-hop heads) has bounced to #13. (7/10p) (HITS Daily Double)
